


Tell Me a Lie

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s06e14 The Wake Up Call, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-07-19
Updated: 2005-07-19
Packaged: 2019-05-15 10:50:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14789114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: If only it were possible to make a lie reality...





	Tell Me a Lie

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Tell Me a Lie**

**by: Caroline**

**Character(s):** Jed, Abbey  
**Pairing(s):** Jed/Abbey  
**Category(s):** Post-Episode  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** If only it were possible to make a lie reality…  
**Spoiler:** The Wake-Up Call 

He recognized his name in her handwriting, appearing the same exact way she had signed his name on the front of every card she had ever given him. As he opened it, he heard, "Happy Valentine's Day," and turned to face her. As he pulled out the card, the hint of a smile on his face, he noticed she was still wearing the black suit from earlier in the day, "Is that what you're wearing to the opera?" 

As nonchalantly as possible, Abbey responded, "You have a 7a.m. call in the morning. I cancelled the opera." She was hoping to avoid the argument that would follow. She knew it was a losing battle. 

Jed, for his part, tried to keep it light, tried to keep from losing his cool on Valentine's Day. He did NOT want to spend it on the sofa in his study; experience with that left him hopped up on back pills and making an ass out of himself. So, he merely questioned, "The whole opera?" 

Still trying to avoid a fight and refusing to look directly at Jed, she turned to sarcasm, "No. Just the part where we give the usher the tickers and..." 

She was interrupted by her husband's outburst, "Damn it, Abbey. I can manage my health without you taking my pulse every five minutes." He made his way behind the desk, seeking a physical barrier from her wrath. She followed him, stopping across from him, "Is that what you were doing when you decided to stay up gossiping with the children last night?!" 

Jed felt as though he were seven again, trying to explain why he had gotten home from school late. "I was talking to Professor Lessig!" 

Abbey, fed up with his childlike naivete, didn't want to hear anymore, "Oh, shove it, Jed. 'It's my disease, it's my health, I can handle it'-the hell you can! You think you can run this country on four and a half hours of sleep with MS? You're out of your mind!" 

He was tired of being handled, of being baby-sat by his Chief-of-Staff, his wife, his best friend, his secretary, his body-man, his Secret Service agents. Standing in front of him was the source of this return to childhood, "Stop treating me like a child!" 

Abbey didn't think he could be any more immature, resorting to puerile whines in their argument, "Then stop acting like one. Where would you be right now if I hadn't gotten you those three hours this morning. You wanna manage your disease? Set your limitations and you manage it. You think I want to speak to you like a teenager staying out after curfew?" Her eyebrow raised, as if daring him to answer. 

He wasn't perfectly sure she wanted an answer or if it was a trap of some kind. But he figured they had already started and he might as well get it all out while he was still allowed to talk, "Then why the hell are you, Abigail?" 

"Because I CAN'T lose you!" She stood in shock of what she had blurted out. Her eyes were wide and her fingertips moved to her open mouth as if they could shove the words back in. Jed didn't know what to say. He could finally see the fear in her eyes as she slowly backed away. With the tears streaming silently down her cheeks, her carefully constructed emotional barrier was broken and he had no idea what to do. She finally broke eye contact and slumped onto one of the sofas, her head in her hands, unable to stop the flow of tears. 

He stood behind his desk and watched his wife's breakdown. He couldn't tell her everything would be alright. Because it wouldn't. He wasn't going to wake up tomorrow and be a healthy thirty-year-old. 

Her sobs began to rack her petite frame. The muffled wails she was struggling to silence broke his heart. Unable to continue to watch, he lowered his head and walked to the sofa where Abbey sat. He placed a hand gently on her back, unsure as to how she would react. 

She was too ashamed to look up at him. She was being selfish. Then again, she was finally being honest. She didn't want to imagine life without her husband, although she knew that was a reality she would, one day, have to face. That's why she went through CJ. To avoid a situation like this. She felt his hand on her back and unconsciously leaned into it. She wanted him to say everything would be okay; but she was aware they both knew better than that. She choked back a sob and turned to face her husband, who was now sitting beside her, "Tell me a lie, Jed." 

He didn't know whether it was the smeared mascara following the salty trails down her flushed cheeks or the pleading look in her eyes or the defeated posture with which she sat, but he felt he owed her at least this, "Everything's going to be fine." 

She nodded, slowly repeating the phrase over and over, like a mantra. He pulled her to him and, as he pressed his lips into her newly-blonde tresses, repeated, "Everything's going to be fine." He held her as tightly as possible, rubbing her back to calm her. With her head against his chest, Abbey absently counted his heartbeats and grasped the lapels of his jacket to her chest. And there they sat, in the office of the most powerful man in the world, just a husband and wife struggling to make a lie their reality.


End file.
